Bourbon

Where it started

Settlers arrived in Harrodsburg with stills in 1774, and Virginia's 1776 Corn Patch and Cabin Rights Act offered 400 acres to anyone who built a cabin and planted corn, which is how corn became the base of the mash bill.⁴ In 1818 Catherine Carpenter of Casey County recorded the first known sour mash recipe.⁴ Where the name comes from is contested; the first known reference may date to 1821, and Jacob Spears of Bourbon County may have labeled his product "Bourbon whiskey" in 1840.⁴ The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 gave honest distillers a federal guarantee.⁴ Prohibition shut all but six Kentucky distilleries, which survived on medicinal permits; of more than 200 before the 18th Amendment, only 34 reopened.⁴ On May 4, 1964, Congress recognized bourbon as "a distinctive product of the United States."⁴

Where and how it's made

The federal standard is short. Bourbon is made from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn, distilled at 160 proof or less, and stored in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less.¹ Bourbon is the one named-grain whisky for which harmless coloring, flavoring and blending materials are not permitted.¹ Like all whisky, it is bottled at not less than 80 proof.¹ "Straight" bourbon adds a two-year minimum in those barrels, and anything under four years old must carry an age statement.¹² The word "bourbon" may not be used for whisky not distilled and aged in the United States.¹

Kentucky adds its own layer: to put "Kentucky" on the label, the bourbon must be cooked, fermented and distilled in Kentucky and aged there at least one year.³ The KDA's own claim is that 95 percent of the world's bourbon is made in the state.⁷ The process: corn is cooked with water, then rye or wheat is added for flavor; yeast ferments the mash into distiller's beer; it is distilled in a column still and then again in a doubler or pot still; and the new make goes into a new charred white oak barrel.⁶

How to taste it

A tulip glass or a rocks glass, neat first. Look at the color: lighter amber usually means younger, deeper brown older, though proof and char also play a role.⁶ Roll a small sip across your tongue, the "Kentucky chew"; the warmth afterward is the "Kentucky hug." Pairings: a grilled pork chop, pecan pie, sharp cheddar.

Styles and what the label means

• Straight bourbon — meets the bourbon rules and spends at least two years in the barrel.⁵
• Bottled-in-Bond — one distillery, one season, four years in bond, 100 proof. bottled-in-bond →
• Cask strength / barrel proof — bottled within two degrees of the proof it left the barrel. cask-strength →
• Single barrel — drawn from one barrel, not mingled with others. single-barrel →
• Wheated bourbon — wheat replaces rye as the flavoring grain; softer. wheated-bourbon →
• High-rye bourbon — a large rye share in the mash bill; spicier. high-rye-bourbon →
• Small batch — a mingling of select barrels.⁵
• Finished bourbon — a second cask after maturation (port, sherry, rum). cask-finishes →